Plenty of Fish in the Sea
by HadenXCharm
Summary: It came from the place where fishes go, From twenty thousand leagues below. It came to the place where the skies are grey, it came to take a poor sailor away. (Pirate/ Mermaid AU, Ikkaku x Yumichika)
1. Chapter 1

_It came from the place where fishes go,  
__From twenty thousand leagues below,_

_It came to the place where the skies are grey,  
It came to take a poor sailor away,_

_-Yours truly~_

* * *

Ikkaku sighed. He was getting near to that point that he would rather shoot himself through the head than be bored any longer.

Fucking fish duty, _again._

Another day of a completely blue horizon, not an island in sight. They'd probably be pillaging some ships later on in the day, maybe having another drinking contest, and then there would be gambling. Shouting captain, bubbly pink-haired first mate jumping on people's heads, and lots and lots of aggressive, sweaty men. Day in, day out.

This was getting boring as hell. What did he really have going for him, anyways? He didn't have a family, no real job, no lover. He couldn't spend any of his treasure because they were hardly ever inland. This _sucked._

All in all, a pirate's life might not be for him.

The sun was beating down on his head, and he took a swig from his sake bottle, trying to convince himself that walking the plank was a bad idea even if it would provide him with a refreshing swim.

He heard a strange noise suddenly, but dismissed it, pinning it on his boredom making things up to be interested in. He began to wind up the pulley attached to the fish net, and was surprised when he had to strain against it. Usually he didn't have much of a problem, even though the fish were really heavy. This was some _insane_ weight though, and the rope kept jerking, tugging him backwards a few turns on the handle.

When the noise continued - sounding like something was slicing through the water - he looked absently over the edge of the boat, and startled suddenly.

Ikkaku couldn't believe what he was seeing.

He tried to contain his excitement and terror as he held the pulley's winder still with his leg and leaned over the edge of the ship. Ikkaku gasped; They were still there, deep down in the water, circling around the fish net he was trying to reel in.

Three humongous sharks. That, however, was not what was scaring Ikkaku out of his wits. It was the slender pale arm that was sticking out of the net, trying to reach for the vicious fish.

Had someone fallen overboard? Had he missed it when he had left earlier for booze? Surely there would have been a splash?

Or maybe the net had tangled up with some dead body... Nope, it was definitely moving. Ikkaku's heart jolted up into his throat.

The arm began to claw against the ropes, clenching and grabbing for the sharks more desperately, and Ikkaku gasped as the pulley strained against his weight, jerking with the movements of whatever was thrashing around inside the net. Whatever it was had some crazy strength.

He started to reel it up, peeking down one more time to see if the sharks were still there, and he froze.

The hand was closer now, and it was webbed.

He almost released the pulley in shock, gasping aloud. Dare he believe it? A mermaid?

No, no, he was seeing things. _Surely_, he was seeing things. Too much salt water, too many idiot pirates on this ship and too many days surrounded by ocean.

But there was one thing he could not deny. A human had no business in his fish net, and verily, that was not a human arm.

He reeled up the net faster than ever, straining against the weight of the fish. He locked the pulley in place and took a look at the hanging net.

The sharks began to circle the surface frantically, poking their noses out of the water, butting against the side of the ship.

The ropes were full of fish, and of course, there was no mermaid. He was fucking delusional like always. Drunk and bored and sick from heatstroke. He needed to eat a frickin' orange and get some sleep.

He turned the hanging sack around, trying to get at the release, and fell back in shock. The pale arm was there, stuck through the gaps in the rope, clawing at the surface of the net. There was a humanoid creature inside, buried underneath fish, and thrashing around, crying out in some strange language.

Ikkaku stood there and blinked at it, coming towards it slowly, trying to verify what he was seeing. It glared at him, and he laughed a little bit, one of those laughs that you do when you're terrified and shocked and trying to relieve tension.

"What are you doing?" he asked it dumbly, perhaps with some sort of blind hope that it was human and that he was just seeing things. It ignored him and writhed harder, making strange sounds in its throat.

There was... There was a _tail_ where legs should be... Ikkaku swallowed nervously.

He took another step closer. He was a brave pirate after all, not some pansy-ass coward who ran from something as amazing as a mermaid without a good long look.

At least that's what he told himself when he ran his eyes over the vicious thing. This was no fair-skinned, well endowed womanly creature like the stories talked about. It was otherworldly, with long slender limbs and pointed ears. Sharp fangs and wicked looking spikes. Sort of scary, actually.

The mermaid hissed at him, as if warning him to stay back. Ikkaku looked at it closely in fascination, taking another step. It was real! Right in front of him! A real mermaid!

The creature was frail and sickly looking, but its human parts looked human enough. It was so slender and boney that Ikkaku wondered if it had a hard time catching food. But oh, how beautiful it was, with fine glistening scales and alabaster skin, long pointed ears and dangerous spines.

Its hair was long and dark and silky, tangled up on its neck and arms, and its skin was a pale white, with a slightly green tinge. There were strange markings over its upper arms and back, and its spine had pearls set next to each vertebrae, lining the elegant ribs of its dorsal fin. The iridescent scales were so finely layered that its tail looked smoother than a snakes back, more impenetrable than chain mail, and so colorful too, a thousand darks shades of navy blue and glittering silver.

"Wow..." Ikkaku said softly, smiling at the creature's beautiful but dangerous face, fangs and all.

It stopped hissing at him for a moment and looked at him curiously. Ikkaku reached out to touch its hand with a huge grin on his face, pausing only when it swiped at him halfheartedly.

"What are you," he asked, more to himself than anything. The thing looked at him for a short time, tail thrashing around anxiously amongst the fish. It withdrew its arm back into the net with some effort.

It continued looking at him silently, and suddenly Ikkaku understood why sirens were supposed to be so enchanting and irresistible. He felt a sharp tug in his gut as he met its gaze.

It was a deep yearning that countless seamen had felt before, just as the beautiful creatures dragged them to their doom at the bottom of the ocean.

Its eyes were green, bright glowing lime green, and they were absolutely enchanting. The mermaid looked at him strangely, and said something in a language that Ikkaku assumed was mermish. It was mostly vowels, but with lots of 'k' sounds, and lots of clicking.

Ikkaku smiled and approached, and the mermaid stuck out its hand again. He took it hesitantly and the mermaid smiled, letting him pick at his spines and feel his cool, smooth arm.

"You're beautiful," Ikkaku said slowly, entranced, reaching through the net to touch the mermaid's face. He gasped as his wrist was grabbed with frightening strength. Oh no, he was caught now - Once a mermaid fixes its grip, nothing can break it but the mermaid's own will. He was surely a goner now!

The mermaid's tail thrashed and it began to cry out in a sorrowful voice, and for some reason, Ikkaku got the impression that the mermaid was imploring him to release it.

When he realized that his demise was not as imminent as he had thought, he laughed nervously, realizing that this was the most excitement he'd gotten in months. Sorta' fun, actually.

Ikkaku twisted his wrist nervously, and the mermaid let go of him. He made a shushing motion with his hand and the mermaid nodded tiredly, settling down amongst the crushing weight of the flopping fish. Ikkaku grinned. It was quite a smart creature, aside from getting stuck in the net.

Ikkaku took out his knife and the creature eyed him distrustfully as he began hacking at the ropes.

Fish spilled onto the deck out of the hole in the net, and the mermaid fell from where it clung to the ropes, flopping down onto the deck with a loud _thump_.

It gave a short wail of pain, or perhaps offense, before eyeing Ikkaku in surprise. It covered its mouth meekly, as if it remembered that it needed to be quiet.

'A _very_ smart creature.'

Ikkaku grinned at the mermaid and it giggled a little, rolling over onto its side, spreading its fins in the sun. He got the feeling that it liked to be admired. Ikkaku approached, nudging fish out of the way, twisting this way and that. Being mindful of any fins on the ground where he was stepping, he awkwardly tried to find a way to lift the creature into his arms.

The mermaid held out its arms for him, eyes shining, mouth stretched in a wide, sharp-toothed grin. Its tail lashed against the deck, long and slender and glittering.

Ikkaku felt a breath leave his chest as he looked at the creature. So very beautiful.

It was sort of androgynous looking, but Ikkaku supposed it was a male as he admired its dangerous looking spines and spikes. It didn't have bosoms after all, but that didn't make it any less beautiful, just less female. Gleaming scales and long soft hair and glowing eyes: Ikkaku couldn't get enough of the sight.

"You're beautiful," he said again, "You are really beautiful." He leaned down and let the mermaid wrap its arms around his neck. Sliding an arm under its shoulders and where he assumed its hips would be, he lifted it up, leaving its long tail to twist and trail behind them.

The mermaid smiled at him and began to stroke his face curiously, playing with his fish-hook earring, running webbed, clawed fingers down the scar over his eye. It chattered aimlessly to him in mermish, picking at his bandanna and petting his head and neck.

Ikkaku just grinned, watching it, completely enchanted by its beautiful face. He didn't care if this was the mermaid's trance that the legends spoke of. He didn't care about that, he just wanted to focus on this smitten feeling forever, even if it was just a spell. For the first time in nigh a year, he felt _alive_.

He heard that mermaids had special powers, one such being that their kisses could protect you from drowning, another that they could grant wishes. The most common legend, however, was that mermaids had the power to bring one human in their lifetime down to where the mermish lived. The human would survive and live forever with the mermaid, happily ever after or something.

Mostly though, mermaids just sang enchanting melodies before drowning and eating sailors, keeping their special power for innocent children who fell overboard or other such things.

Ikkaku stroked the creature's hair gently, gazing at its face. Right now, he didn't care about being drowned if it was in the arms of this beautiful being. That was probably the spell talking, but he didn't care.

His mermaid began to repeat a word over and over, touching its own chest, resting its head on Ikkaku's shoulder.

"Yumi… chika?" Ikkaku repeated. "Your name is Yumichika?"

"Yumichika," it whispered in its strange accent, beginning to struggle for breath a little. It then trailed its finger around Ikkaku's own chest, looking into his eyes for an unnerving length of time.

"Ikkaku," he said, dead-serious, looking back at it. It blinked, and then began to giggle hysterically, wrapping its arms tighter around his neck, looking at him with adoration. Perhaps it thought his name was funny.

"Ikkhakuu," it laughed, saying it over and over as the young pirate carried him to the edge of ship.

"Goodbye," Ikkaku whispered, heart filled with regret and pain, sad to see such an exotic beauty go. The smile faded from the mermaid's face as he set it down on its rear on the railing of the ship, ready to heft it into the water. It was such a clever thing; it had probably known right from the start that Ikkaku was going to let it go, which was why it hadn't fought or harmed him.

It stroked his face one last time, grasping him around the neck with a strength that such thin arms shouldn't possess, gently coaxing him with it over the edge of the boat, and suddenly his captain was ripping the creature onto the deck, shoving Ikkaku away.

"Didn't know the mermish were still 'round," Ikkaku watched in horror as his captain grabbed the creature by the hair and dragged it away from the edge of the deck. Of course Ikkaku realized that Kenpachi had just saved him from being dragged to his death, but still he didn't have to be so rough on the poor thing. It was probably scared to death!

It shrieked so loudly that many of the crew members doubled over in pain, gripping their ears. It was a voice that would cut through water like a whale's, melodic but deadly.

Yumichika began to claw his way over the wooden planks of the deck, dragging his long, serpentine tail behind him.

Ikkaku suddenly realized what a feat of strength this was, considering its stick thin arms, and the fact that gravity made it much heavier on land; he was beginning to think that he had seriously underestimated how dangerous it was.

The only thing keeping him and his crew safe was its disadvantage of being 'beached' on their ship. In the water they wouldn't stand a chance.

Ikkaku began to sweat. It had almost gotten him. It would've pulled him over the side of the boat and eaten him alive with those sharks. He had let his guard down, too preoccupied with its beauty and charm to realize its sinister nature!

For some reason that made Ikkaku's heart twist. He really wanted to think that the creature liked him and was grateful that he had tried to free it.

"Is that a…"

"A merman!"

"They say there's only one merman for every hundred 'maids-"

Its eyes grew wild and threatened as the ugly humans closed in on it from all sides. The creature began hissing and swiping at them with his claws, backing towards Ikkaku's legs. Suddenly Ikkaku was extremely glad that the peppy first mate was sick in bed with scurvy; She would've had an absolute _field_ day over a real live mermaid on their ship.

Yumichika gripped Ikkaku's pant legs, trying to climb him, but only succeeding in dragging Ikkaku down onto the slippery floor.

"What's it doing? It's not biting him,"

"Aw, look, Ikkaku, it likes you,"

"Why'd it swim into the net? Is it stupid?"

Kenpachi growled at them then, "You idiots." He crossed his arms and pointed at the frantic sharks circling the ship. Ikkaku could suddenly remember some story about the mermish always having companions, like dolphins. Really though? The sharks were Yumichika's companions? Maybe it was because he was a deep-water mermaid, and not one from the tide pools or the coral reefs. He briefly wondered if arctic mermaids had whales or seals with them, and supposed that the selkies must live there too.

"One of his sharks got caught in the net," Zaraki gestured to the small shark lying amongst the trapped fish. "Don't underestimate that thing. Even the dumbest mermaid is smarter than the best of us. They're clever to a fault. Ever heard of Atlantis?"

Of course. Who hadn't? A sea-man's legend. The sunken civilization, so advanced compared to the rest of the world that the 'gods' had decided to sink it out of jealousy. The Atlantians, according to the legend, had adapted to the water, and lived as merpeople now.

"Ikh…" it hissed, digging its long claws into the splintery wood. "Ikhhha-khu," it said throatily, with a thick accent, teeth bared towards the other pirates. Ikkaku scrambled out of its reach, getting up and backing away, but it continued to claw its way after him on its belly.

It must have realized that he was the one that might show compassion or mercy towards it, and it changed tactics quickly. It started to sing in mermish to him, eyes locking with his; a haunting, minor tune that seemed fit only for the depths of the ocean.

Ikkaku's knees weakened and suddenly all that mattered was that he pick up the beautiful, beautiful creature and jump into the water with it.

Kenpachi kicked it heavily in the side, breaking the spell, knocking the wind out of the creature's lungs. It shrieked and bared its teeth, turning on him.

Yumichika must have been ferociously angry and frightened at that point because all of the spines rose on his body and he let out a deep fearsome screech.

He was out for blood now, lunging at the pirate captain, but one of the crewmates was quick enough to stab their sword through the fan of his tail.

Ikkaku winced, remembering hearing something about mermaid tails, and that the delicate paper-thin skin of the tail was their weakness: Even a small wound would prevent the creature from swimming because of the terrible agony it put them through. Although it had been about to attack his captain, it seemed unnecessarily cruel to pin it to the deck that way.

It gasped in pain, and its body began writhing and twisting most horribly, as it grabbed at its wounded tail, crying out.

"Leave it now, it can't swim with a wounded fin. You," Kenpachi pointed at Ikkaku, "Clean up this mess." He gestured to the fish flopping all over the place.

A few of the men gasped in shock as the creature began to wail, tugging harshly on its tail, cutting its own delicate flesh in a desperate attempt for freedom. "It's… it's cutting itself loose,"

"Maybe I was wrong about it being stupid," Kenpachi mumbled. "Ikkaku, you useless fucker, get _movin',_ I said. Get those fish outta' here. And that too," He pointed at the wailing creature. "Toss him in the tank 'till we decide what ta' do with 'im."

Ikkaku nodded, grateful when the captain ordered everyone to disperse and get back to work.

He approached the creature, hands outstretched, discouraged slightly when it hissed at him angrily, eyes glowing with fear and anxiety.

"Yumichika… it's okay..." he said in what he hoped was a soothing manner. It flopped to the deck pathetically, as if it understood that Ikkaku could no longer throw it overboard without risking punishment. It didn't struggle much anymore, beginning to pant and gasp, clutching weakly at its throat.

"You're in pain," Ikkaku said in surprise, approaching closer, stroking its side, which was more damp than wet now.

The mermaid strained for a moment and Ikkaku's hand recoiled; The creature gulped in air suddenly, skin now coated with cooling mucus and trickling trails of water.

"What the hell did you just do?" Ikkaku wondered aloud, and the creature answered him in mermish, keening in pain as it tugged weakly where it was still pinned to the deck.

"Hold still," he said, trying to explain with hand motions. The mermaid just lay there tiredly, breathing heavily, gill flaps opening up on its neck. As he approached, it laid down its spines and ridged fins, and Ikkaku made doubly sure to be careful that he was not stepping on any of creature's body parts.

He yanked the sword swiftly from its tail and it cried out loudly in pain, coiling itself up, leaving a small trail of blood on the deck. "Here, lemme' see how bad it is," Ikkaku mumbled, kneeling down near the distraught creature.

It watched him carefully as he took the end of its tail - Ikkaku suspected it was an act of immense trust, so he did not take it lightly. He spread apart the ribs of the fan and looked carefully at the stab wound; It had gone straight through, and was pretty clean, despite the rough tugging Yumichika had put it through trying to escape.

"I think you'll be okay," Ikkaku said, smiling a little bit, setting Yumichika's tail down gently. It panted weakly, and tried to lift its tattooed and finned arms to him, whining in pain softly as its tail moved around on the deck.

"So dramatic," Ikkaku sighed, lifting the exhausted, bleeding, slimy mermaid into his arms once again, carrying the limp, heavy thing over to the big pit in the center of the deck, in front of the mast. The captain liked to get the fish fresh out of the tank rather than having them caught continuously - and secretly, it was mostly because the first mate liked to play with them in there. Besides that, it was a good place to chuck sharks and prisoners.

Yumichika clung to him, reluctant to let go and be dropped into the water with all those fish. Ikkaku nudged his wounded tail in first, letting it down as gently as possible. The mermaid flopped into the water, after a six foot fall through the air.

Ikkaku sighed, sitting down on the edge of the tank, waiting for it to resurface and look at him.

It slapped away strings of algae in disgust. Suddenly it snarled and splashed him once before submerging. Ikkaku groaned, wiping scummy salt water from his eyes, before getting to work on chucking the rest of the fish into the tank.

He found the baby shark that Yumichika was trying to save, caught in the bottom of the net. It was obviously dead; When sharks are unable to swim, they can't breathe, and this little one had quickly died.

Yumichika began calling to him, splashing around and making keening noises; Ikkaku sauntered over just enough so that he could peek over the edge of the pit while he scrubbed the deck. Yumichika hissed at him and hurled a fish with deadly accuracy, cutting through the air twice as fast as it would through water. It flew like a bullet, hitting him square in the chest.

Ikkaku gaped, absolutely stunned. The fish fell from his chest and hit the ground with a wet _smack_, and Ikkaku stared at it for a moment. The merman grabbed another fish and bit the head off of it, wolfing it down greedily, not even leaving the bones. It tried to splash him again, but gave up when Ikkaku moved away, laughing a little.

It looked at him with wounded eyes and sunk down into the scummy water once again. Ikkaku halfheartedly scrubbed the rest of the deck, eager to get down to the pantry, which was where the glass tank lay under the deck.

Every once in awhile the creature would ram itself against the glass, thrashing its powerful tail, shrieking so loudly under the water that it caused fine ripples to spread over the surface.

It knew that it was trapped, and it was angry.


	2. Chapter 2

Ikkaku was glad that Yumichika had finally stopped his tantrum and quieted down. The anguished cries and the loud _thumps_ against the glass tank were making Ikkaku feel immensely guilty. What did Kenpachi want with Yumichika anyways?

Ikkaku knew what Kenpachi might be after, and he hoped he was wrong, because if he was right Yumichika would probably end up dead.

He descended the rope ladder, going below deck and wandering into the pantry, peering through the glass wall, searching for his mermaid.

The water was slightly cloudy, and the fish were swimming every which way, collecting mostly where rays of sunlight fell onto the floor of the tank.

The merman's hair was in a whirl around him, twisting and waving with the gentle rocking of the ship. Yumichika lay curled up on the floor of the tank, moving slightly every time the water lapped against the glass. His bleeding tailfin was spread out, fan covering his face.

Ikkaku tapped on the glass gently with his knuckle, standing in front of the clear wall. The mermaid ignored him until he knocked again, and again, eventually pounding on the glass. Yumichika twitched, rolling over, swimming lazily over to him.

It was squinting and waving its webbed hand around through the water to clear it. It doubled over, as if it were coughing, a few bubbles escaping from its gills.

Its tail was still bleeding a little, and it swam awkwardly, using its long body instead of its spiny fan. Yumichika squinted and got close to the glass, looking at Ikkaku.

After he recognized him, he darted back from the glass, crossing his arms poutily. "Ay!" Ikkaku shouted at the mermaid, banging on the glass, demanding that it pay attention to him, "It's not my fault that yer' stuck here! You shouldn'ta' come back for that little shark,"

He paused, before adding in a quiet tone, "I was gonna' let you go…" His hand slid down off the glass tank.

He knew that his words were probably very distorted through the glass and that the mermaid couldn't understand him anyways, but he still tried. "Yumichika." The mermaid looked up at him.

"Ikkaku," it said, and its voice cut through the water perfectly, accent nearly erased. The mermaid slapped at the fish swimming around it, growing annoyed. Yumichika suddenly bared his teeth and puffed up his fins, scaring them away from him.

Yumichika then seemed to sigh, and floated onto his back, as if he was reclining on a bed. The mermaid looked at Ikkaku lazily, rolling some hair around its finger. Ikkaku grinned at it, pressing his hands against the glass. Yumichika reluctantly smiled back.

"I don't care what those idiots think. I think you're beautiful."

Yumichika perked up then, trying to communicate something to him in mermish, which underwater, sounded more like a mix of Greek, Latin, and something else. Ikkaku frowned in confusion, but watched carefully when Yumichika's clawed, webbed hands stood rigid, one bowing over the other.

"What?"

It began to struggle mentally and pointed at Ikkaku, trying to speak, nearly knocking Ikkaku's socks off when it spoke a few english words. The accent came back very thickly, and it looked at him in what seemed like embarrassment.

"Ikkhakuu khan svim?" it asked eagerly. And it took a moment for Ikkaku to understand what it was asking him, still shocked that it knew some words. Or perhaps it was so clever that it had already learned some just by listening to the crew speak all day.

When he did not answer in due time, it grew agitated and pressed itself against the glass, repeating itself anxiously.

"Yes, I can swim," Ikkaku answered back; Yumichika smiled and moved his webbed hand over Ikkaku's. They remained that way for a few seconds, unmoving, staring into each other's eyes.

Yumichika opened his mouth and spoke again in broken english, accent so thick that Ikkaku could hardly understand him, "Yumichika ahn Ikkhaku khan svim?" Yumichika pointed at Ikkaku's chest and then made a 'come hither' gesture.

"You… You want me to swim with you?"

"Svim viss," Yumichika said eagerly, making a wavy motion with his arm in an indication of what was probably a mermaid's tail when swimming.

Yumichika just looked so lonely and hopeful and _beautiful_, that Ikkaku couldn't find it in him to refuse. It was still the middle of the day and it was hot as hades; He had been sweating uncomfortably for quite some time.

Besides… Yumichika probably wouldn't tear him limb from limb or try to eat him. He seemed like a smart enough creature to know that if he hurt Ikkaku he wouldn't have any chance to escape.

"Alright," Ikkaku grinned, removing his shirt and climbing back up onto the deck. Yumichika swam up to greet him, crowing cheerfully and hoisting himself out of the water with a powerful thrust of his tail. It probably pained him greatly, but he rose a few feet out of the water, high enough that he could see over the edge of the pit.

"Alright, alright, calm down,"

"Ikkhakhu svim visssss," Yumichika demanded, rolling onto his back to allow his tailfin some rest. Ikkaku yanked off his boots and bandana and sat down on the edge of the tank, dangling his legs. Yumichika absently swiped for his feet with his tail, submerging himself a few feet and bobbing back up.

Ikkaku laughed a little when Yumichika began to reach for him greedily, "Alright, just calm down, I said."

"Svim!"

Ikkaku laughed, tying a rope around the mast, and tossing the end into the tank, just so he'd be able to pull himself out again. He then took a running jump and cannonballed into the water.

He opened his eyes while submerged and froze, finding Yumichika nose to nose with him. He blew a stream of bubbles into Yumichika's face in surprise, and began coughing.

"Don't scare me like that," he shouted angrily, floating on the surface of the tank. Yumichika began nipping at his kicking feet, and Ikkaku nervously started treading with his arms, trying to keep his eye on the creature circling under him.

Yumichika surfaced silently behind him, slipping his wet fingers over Ikkaku's eyes gently. He said something quietly in mermish and then sunk back down beneath him to circle the tank.

It seemed that Yumichika had realized that Ikkaku could not swim nearly as well as he could, nor could he stay underwater very long. If he was disappointed that Ikkaku wouldn't be able to play with him, it didn't show.

Suddenly Yumichika darted across the tank so fast that he frightened Ikkaku nearly out of his wits. Yumichika surfaced with a fish in his teeth, looking so innocent that it was disarming.

"Uh… Good catch,"

The mermaid moved the wriggling fish to his hand and made it swim through the air, giggling sweetly. "Pisces," he sang over and over, putting the fish in front of Ikkaku's face.

"Fish?" Yumichika stared at him for a minute until the fish's tail smacked him in the face.

"Feesss," Yumichika had trouble with that one, and Ikkaku smiled at him, playing with his long hair. "Ikkaku kessh feesh?"

Ikkaku's mouth dropped open a little. It was a little frightening how fast Yumichika was learning. "Uhh… No. I can't. You're way better at it than me. Ya' make it look easy... Just grabbin' 'em with yer' hands like that..."

Yumichika looked at the fish with an indifferent expression on his face for a little bit, water lapping about his shoulders.

"You should probably let that go. If you eat too many it could be trouble. That's supposed to be our food supply."

Yumichika stared at him blankly, and Ikkaku gently took Yumichika's fingers off of the fish and let it back into the water.

Yumichika stared off into space for a few more moments before sighing and beginning to hum and sing a melodic tune that didn't seem to have any sort of spell in it.

Ikkaku smiled and relaxed into the water, leaning back, allowing the mermaid to drift towards his chest and put its arms around his neck in an embrace, sort of like how a bride would hold her new husband when being carried over a threshold.

Yumichika hummed tiredly, resting his head on Ikkaku's shoulder, stroking his face absently as Ikkaku held him to his hard chest. They rested that way for almost ten minutes until someone came stomping out onto the deck.

"Ikk- Oh fuck!" Renji ran over to the tank after seeing Ikkaku's boots and peered inside, "Did you fall in? What… What the hell are you doing?!"

Yumichika glared at the shouting newcomer and splashed Renji's feet with a flick of his tail. Ikkaku just sheepishly pulled Yumichika closer to his body, riding the small waves that the rocking motion of the boat provided.

"Going for a swim," Ikkaku said calmly.

"Don't hold it, stupid, it's part of its spell!"

"I found him, I can hold him if I damn well want," Ikkaku scowled darkly.

"You idiot, it's gonna' fucking kill you!" Renji shouted desperately, trying to make Ikkaku see sense. He reached a hand down for Ikkaku to grasp, so that he could be pulled out, but withdrew when Yumichika hissed at him.

"He is not. Go away, Renji."

"Renshii khan svim?" Yumichika asked curiously, causing Renji to recoil from the tank in alarm. Ikkaku mumbled something about the water being fine and that he should come in, but Renji shook his head in woe and left.

Ikkaku sighed. That was probably his cue to get out of the water. And so with great disappointment from Yumichika, Ikkaku pulled himself out of the tank by the rope, stumbling up onto the deck.

Yumichika gave a low whine and grasped the rope himself, pulling his upper body out of the water, but lowering himself back down when his tail proved too heavy. This distressed him greatly and he started to swim in nervous circles.

"You can't come out with me," Ikkaku tried to explain. "I'll be back later." Yumichika tried to scale the rope again, but Ikkaku untied it and pulled it out, "You can't, Yumichika."

Yumichika sunk down in disappointment before his mouth began contorting. Ikkaku feared that it was going to start throwing a fit, but it just struggled a little mentally before speaking. "Ikkhaku khan? Yumichika…" It paused, "khanng," It struggled a little bit more, tongue working behind its teeth.

"Can't?"

"Khan… _Khanth_," Yumichika stuck his head underwater in embarrassment, but Ikkaku tried to reassure him that he was doing well.

"'T'," Ikkaku demonstrated with his mouth clearly. Yumichika arranged his face into a similar position, with teeth bared.

"Ts, ts, ssssssss," Yumichika thought for a couple seconds, "Khants?" Ikkaku nodded, grinning widely.

"Good. Can't."

Yumichika then began to talk aimlessly, perhaps to himself, trying out his new word, "Khants… Khents?" He settled on the second one and tried out some sentences, all simple ones, but pretty impressive nonetheless.

"Alright, Yumichika. I'll be back later, okay?" Yumichika frowned at him, visibly nervous. Ikkaku hadn't left him alone all day since his capture, and Yumichika was obviously feeling threatened by being on this pirate ship full of strange humans, humans who had hurt his precious tail.

When Ikkaku retreated from the tank, Yumichika just sank down into the water amongst the fish and curled up near some seaweed, waiting for his return.

Ikkaku began praying to whoever would listen to a pirate's prayer, that Yumichika would remain safe and that he wouldn't have to break a mermaid's trust.


	3. Chapter 3

Sure enough, Kenpachi wanted the legendary mermaid's tears, which were not only infinitely rare, but had magical properties that allowed the owner to name nearly any price for them. Of course, mermaid tears were almost impossible to get, for they were proud creatures, and had an unbreakable resolve.

When Yumichika would not willingly give up his tears, the next day he was taken from the water tank and left in the sun with Ikkaku on watch. Ikkaku sat there ashamedly, next to the panting creature, who had already exhausted itself by coating itself in cooling slime several times.

Ikkaku rubbed his drying tailfin in comfort, moving closer to the suffering creature. Yumichika began to lick his palms in desperation, trying to coat his drying patches with saliva. Ikkaku nervously bit his lip: He wasn't allowed to give Yumichika any water, and was forced to watch him slowly fry in the sun.

"Ya' doin' okay?" Yumichika looked at him in exasperation and a slow-building agony, lifting his arm weakly to his throat. He opened his mouth and Ikkaku winced as he could audibly hear Yumichika peel his tongue from the roof of his mouth.

He made a pinching motion in front of his mouth, unable to describe the dry feeling. The mermish probably didn't have many words for dry sensations or the crackling itchiness that comes along with it.

Yumichika soon started coughing, breath rattling in his chest as he struggled for air. His gill flaps opened up, a last bit of moisture creeping down his neck. His breathing became very labored, and he stopped moving almost altogether.

Ikkaku didn't bother asking Yumichika to cry a tear, knowing that now it was a matter of pride and that Yumichika would never give up his tear. He just set the glass tube down on the deck and rubbed Yumichika's arm gently.

He lay back against the wood of the deck in the dizzying heat and began to doze, for how long he didn't know, but he was awoken by heartbreaking, frantic cries from Yumichika.

"What, whuzza' matter," Ikkaku said groggily, wiping his eyes, taking a quick glance at Yumichika, "Oh my… God… What happened to you…"

Yumichika began to cry and sniffle in distress, but no tears came. Yumichika had legs. He had lost his mermaid's appearance when the last drop of water dried.

A perfectly shaped naked human lay there on the deck, other than the vicious pierce wound through one of his feet.

"Hyumhan, Hyumhan," Yumichika began to wail despairingly, putting his split fingers in front of Ikkaku's eyes.

"Oh no," Ikkaku said slowly, coming closer to the wriggling form of his mermaid. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

Yumichika wept bitterly, but still no tears came. Ikkaku patted him in comfort and stood up, holding out a hand to him, "Let's go get you some clothes."

Yumichika took his hand slowly as if he didn't understand why he was doing so, and Ikkaku tried to pull him to his feet. Yumichika's knees buckled and his legs went limp under him however, so Ikkaku sighed and carried him.

Ikkaku quickly realized - when Yumichika peeked curiously inside of his shirt - that Yumichika thought clothes were a silly oddity, and refused to wear them himself, so after a few minutes in the cool shade of the cabins, Ikkaku reluctantly took Yumichika back out into the blazing sun.

Yumichika soon began to cry again when they sat down near the lesser mast, trying to take refuge in the shade of Ikkaku's legs.

"C'mon, it's not so bad now. Just calm down, everything's gonna' be fine."

Yumichika lay there pitifully, unmoving, soon spiralling into such deep depression Ikkaku could no longer get any response out of him.

He lay there baking in the sun, breathing becoming labored once again. Ikkaku moved to block the sun from his skin when it began to peel off in great amounts.

Luckily, dusk began to approach, and Ikkaku was able to sneak Yumichika a few fish. Yumichika took it gratefully, smearing its cooling dew along his forehead and chest, without a hint of shame. He then tried to bite it and whined when his human teeth couldn't easily tear through its scales.

Ikkaku cut it into pieces for him and draped a blanket over Yumichika's shoulders, settling next to him with the only book he owned, which was filled with legends on magical creatures.

Ikkaku read with difficulty, messing up quite a few words, and at first, Yumichika pretended to ignore him, sulking. But soon he was drawn in by the pictures and the sound of Ikkaku's voice and was an avid audience.

Yumichika became extremely excited when he came to a section on mermaids. Ikkaku nervously skipped the tale he knew only too well - about a mermaid who granted a sailor a wish and then returned to drown him nine years later - moving on to the very last story.

Yumichika rested his head on Ikkaku's leg, listening closely, but probably not understanding almost all of it.

It was about a young maiden of the water whose human lover betrayed her, and forevermore, his dreams were haunted by the sad singing of the mermaid who had loved him. Mermaids bestowed their love only once in a lifetime, and often died of grief, which was the curse of their immortality.

Yumichika keened sadly, tracing the picture of a sorrowful girl leaping into the wrathful waves. He then looked at Ikkaku, who had finished reading and was staring off at the sunset.

Yumichika nudged him and slowly opened his palm over Ikkaku's, placing in it, a makeshift haircomb, which was little more than a broken jaw of a shark, a row of about six teeth that Yumichika had been wearing in his hair.

Ikkaku watched as Yumichika curled his large fingers around the shark teeth with his own small hands, trying to convey silently that it was a very special item. "Thank you," Ikkaku said quietly, hoping against hope that Yumichika would survive another day. He knew that that wouldn't happen though. A beached mermaid could not survive the midday sun on their dry body for more than a few hours; their skin was too delicate.

When he awoke to the crewmembers drenching Yumichika in water to reawaken his mermaid form, trying to forcibly drag tears out of him by slowly shredding his fins, Ikkaku decided that punishment be damned, he was going to set Yumichika free.

* * *

When night fell, Ikkaku pulled the wounded mermaid from the fish tank and wrapped his upper body up in a big towel, hefting him into a lifeboat.

"We're getting out of here," he mumbled, setting his bundles of clothes and treasure next to Yumichika in the rowboat, lowering it down into the water.

Yumichika remained silent for most of the trip except for an occasional whine of pain. Ikkaku winced, wondering if Yumichika would be able to swim at all now; He might never swim again after what they had done to his tail.

Eventually, Ikkaku decided that the pirate ship was far enough away, and with a heavy heart, unwrapped Yumichika from his towels, and helped him into the ocean.

Yumichika smiled wearily, clinging to the side of the boat. Ikkaku leaned over the edge to watch him go, waiting patiently as Yumichika twisted his arms around his shoulders and pulled him closer to the water.

He waited for Yumichika to snatch him from the rowboat and to pull him violently to his death, ready for it all to be over. Yumichika stroked his face, pulling him even closer, singing that enchanting tune to him in a sweet voice.

Ikkaku closed his eyes when Yumichika rose up out of the water, readying himself for his doom. He gasped softly in surprise when Yumichika kissed him full on the mouth. A mermaid's kiss! Yumichika had bestowed him with a mermaid's kiss! He sat frozen for a few moments with that wet quivering body beneath him, before he melted into it and kissed back, holding Yumichika's face tenderly.

He opened his eyes and saw that Yumichika was crying silently, soft tears of blood seeping down his face and reddening the water around him. Yumichika's hands tightened on Ikkaku's neck, tugging him closer to the sea.

Three great sharks rose up from the ocean depths, nudging their way close to the boat and circling around them, ready to assist their wounded master while he was unable to swim. Yumichika looked into Ikkaku's eyes again, and suddenly, his grip broke.

"Goodbye," Yumichika said clearly, hands slipping from Ikkaku's neck, sinking beneath the waves. Ikkaku felt a crash of heartbreak and devastation hit him full speed, and he tried to grab Yumichika's wrist, but it was too late. The mermaid was gone.

He had been spared.

* * *

_It came from the place where fishes go_  
_From twenty thousand leagues below_

_It came to the place where the skies are grey,_  
_It came to take a poor sailor away,_

_He came with a song, and left with a kiss,_  
_Leaving the ships in the fog and mist_

_He came from the depths, from the icy blue,_  
_And now he's leaving, in love with you,_

* * *

_~Fin~_


	4. Epilogue, Closing notes

Twenty years later, villagers heard tell of a local swordsman spotting a mermaid on the sandy beach, wailing over a shark's dead body. It had caught itself in a tide pool, and after the traditional line of 'take me to the water', - the only english words that every mermaid knew - the swordsman picked it up and carried it to the ocean.

One of the young children swears that the mermaid didn't drown him, and that the man had just kept walking into the sea until it swallowed them up.

* * *

_Closing notice~_

I just wanted to add, that a big aspect of Yumichika and Ikkaku's relationship - even in canon - is self sacrifice. Love is unselfishness, and love is letting go.

Yumichika unselfishly allows Ikkaku his happiness in the bleach canon, even though it causes him incredible pain to allow him to recklessly battle, knowing that one day he must watch him die. Friend, lover, or otherwise, no one who watches bleach can deny that Ikkaku's demands that he stay out of his fights no matter what, causes Yumichika intense pain.

That aspect of their relationship is painted clearly here in this story. Ikkaku selflessly attempted to set Yumichika free, despite wanting to keep him, and in exchange, Yumichika changes his mind at the last minute and sets Ikkaku free as well by allowing him to live his human life, rather than bringing him to the land of the mermish like he had wanted to (Their two goodbyes).

Of course, they meet by chance again, and change their minds, but that's not the point.

Please review, Thank you so much for reading. (: Follow me for more interesting Yumichika x Ikkaku stories to come! I know this is an ill appreciated pairing, and I am going to contribute as much as possible.


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